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February’s Menu

January 31st, 2010 Filed under Food Comments Off

Well, the challenge this month is to get the grocery and eating out budget under $200 for the month!!!  So far so good as my recent shopping run that covered 90% of my groceries for the month only cost $82!!  Here is what I got:

You may be asking, “How can that little bit of food feed you for a month?”  Well, I am glad you asked… Here is what my meals look like for this month:

Breakfast is almost always strawberry/banana smoothie (made with diet V-8 splash, frozen bananas and strawberries), a boiled egg and oatmeal.

Mid-AM snack is an apple and mid-PM snack is homemade yogurt.

Lunch will be vegetable lasagna or veggie chili (still have 3 or 4 packets left from last month) with brown rice.

Dinner will be spinach topped chicken, turkey meatloaf or autumn glazed pork chops (also left from last month) with brown rice and frozen veggies.

Once I planned my month and took out the meals where I was out of town or already had commitments (i.e. church dinner), I needed 17 lunches and 17 dinners. The lasagna and spinach topped chicken each make 12 servings.  Since the chili, meatloaf and pork chops are left over from last month I am pretty much good to go with what I already had in the freezer. I will need to go back and probably get another gallon of milk and fruit but for the most part I am covered.

I spent about 3 hours this afternoon preparing the chicken and the lasagna but it means that I am done cooking for the month.  I freeze everything in single serving sizes so I just check my calendar and see what I planned and pull it before heading up to bed.  This has saved me so much money and calories!!

What are some ways that you save money and/or calories?

Vegetable Lasagna

January 31st, 2010 Filed under Food Comments Off

This recipe is wonderful because I love all of the veggies.  I can use a ton of them and feel full but not have all the added calories.

Vegetable Lasagna

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

½ cup diced onion

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1 ½ tablespoon Italian Seasoning

½ tsp basil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

14 oz. can chopped tomatoes

6 oz can tomato paste

12 lasagna noodles

4-6 cups Chopped Vegetables (peppers, squash, carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, cauliflower, etc.)

1-10 oz box chopped spinach, thawed and drained well

3 cups grated mozzarella cheese

16 oz skim cottage cheese

6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

In 6 qt stockpot, sauté onion and garlic in oil until tender.  Add seasonings, canned tomatoes and paste.  Cover and simmer 40 minutes stirring occasionally.  (This makes a great marinara sauce as well.)

Chop 4-6 cups assorted vegetables.  I used yellow squash, onions, mushrooms and a bag of frozen vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, carrot medley).  Add chopped vegetables to sauce mixture the last 10 minutes and cook until vegetables are crisp tender.  (If using frozen vegetables, thaw beforehand and only add the last few minutes.) Set sauce aside.

Boil 12 Lasagna noodles according to package directions.  Drain and set aside. Drain spinach (press out excess water) and set aside. Spray bottom of 13 x 9” pan with cooking spray.  Place 4 noodles across bottom of pan. Top with 1/3 of sauce/vegetable mixture.  Spread 1/3 cottage cheese on top and spread evenly.  Sprinkle with 1/3 Parmesan cheese.  Top with 1/3 of mozzarella cheese.  Spread entire box of spinach evenly over cheese.  Repeat noodles, vegetable and cheeses 2 more times ending with mozzarella cheese on top. (I actually was only able to do this noodle process twice so I just made a smaller lasagna using and 8×8 pan and cooked it alongside the other dish.)

Bake at 350 degrees 30-40 minutes or until light brown on top and bubbling on sides.  Let stand 10-15 minutes before serving.  Serves 12

Nutritional Information: 284 Calories; 9g Fat (27.1% calories from fat); 19g Protein; 33g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 19mg Cholesterol; 678mg Sodium.

Spinach Topped Chicken

January 31st, 2010 Filed under Food 2 Comments

This recipe is VERY flavorful and the chicken is extremely moist.  I freeze one in a sandwich size zip lock bag and the toppings does fine when I thaw to eat.

12 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 3 ½ lbs)

3 egg whites

¾ cup Italian bread crumbs

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

½ cup sliced green onions

1 Tbl minced garlic

2 Tbl butter

2 Tbl flour

1-cup skim milk

1 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained

4 oz pancetta ham, diced

Preheat oven to 350° F. Slightly beat egg whites in small bowl; set aside. Combine bread crumbs, cheese, salt & pepper in shallow dish. Dip chicken breasts in egg whites; roll in bread crumb mixture and arrange in 9×13-inch baking dish. Save remaining crumbs.  In a saucepan, cook green onions and garlic in butter until tender. Stir in flour.  Stir in milk all at once.  Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.  Cook and stir one minute more.  Stir in spinach and ham.  Spoon spinach mixture over chicken; sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture.  Bake uncovered 40-45 minutes or until done. Serves 12.

Nutritional Information: 211 Calories; 5g Fat; 31g Protein; 8g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 79mg Cholesterol; 391mg Sodium.

Mexican Chicken Casserole

January 2nd, 2010 Filed under Food Comments Off

Ingredients:

10 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced

12 6-in. corn tortillas, torn into pieces

2 10.7 oz. cans reduced-fat cream of chicken soup

1 10 oz. can Rotel tomatoes

8 oz. Velveeta Light processed cheese

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

Nonstick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350° F. In medium saucepan, heat soup, tomatoes and cheese until cheese is melted. Sauté bell pepper and onion in nonstick skillet with 1/4 cup of water or broth until tender. Stir into soup mixture; add chicken and tortillas. Pour into 9×13-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake 30 minutes. Serves 8.

Nutritional Information: 243 Calories; 7g Fat (24.9% calories from fat); 20g Protein; 26g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 38mg Cholesterol; 989mg Sodium.

Vegetarian Chili

January 2nd, 2010 Filed under Food 5 Comments

Ingredients:

2  large carrots, diced (1 cup)

2  celery ribs, diced (1/2 cup)

1  medium-size sweet onion, diced

Vegetable cooking spray

2  (8-oz.) packages sliced fresh mushrooms

1  large zucchini, chopped (1 1/2 cups)

1  yellow squash, chopped (1 cup)

1  tablespoon  chili powder

1  teaspoon  dried basil

1  teaspoon  seasoned pepper

1  (8-oz.) can tomato sauce

3  cups  tomato juice

2  (14 1/2-oz.) cans diced tomatoes, undrained

4  (15-oz.) cans pinto, black, great Northern, or kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1  cup  frozen whole kernel corn

Sauté first 3 ingredients in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat 10 minutes or until onions are translucent. Add mushrooms, zucchini, and squash; sauté 3 more minutes. Add chili powder and next 2 ingredients, and sauté 5 more minutes.

Stir together tomato sauce and tomato juice in a 6-qt. slow cooker until smooth. Stir in diced tomatoes, next 2 ingredients, and carrot mixture. Cover and cook on LOW 8 hours.

Note: Cool leftovers, and freeze in plastic freezer containers or zip-top plastic freezer bags for up to 2 months.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 124  Fat: 0.8g  Protein: 7.4g  Carbohydrate: 24.5g  Fiber: 7g  Iron: 2mg  Sodium: 566mg  Calcium: 63mg